Models of interest rate caps and floors are typically based on discrete rates over finite horizons while existing real option models describe perpetual claims on the maximum of two continuous flows. In this paper we produce formulae for finite maturity caps and floors that are contingent on...

Risk-neutral (RN) and real-world (RW) densities are derived from option prices and risk assumptions, and are compared with historical densities obtained from time series. Two parametric methods that adjust from RN to RW densities are developed, firstly a CRRA risk aversion transformation and...

In this paper we examine the variables that explain the cross-section of UK stock returns. Previous studies have found that the CAPM beta has moderate or even insignificant explanatory power once the Fama French factors are included. However we control for different realised risk premia in up...

The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) assumes either that all asset returns are normally distributed or that investors have mean-variance preferences. Given empirical observations of asset returns, which document evidence of skewness and kurtosis, both assumptions are suspect. While several...

The continuous-time formula for expected payoff to holding an option, which nests several major pricing tools, is derived. It is shown also that under current market conditions the true exercise probability, N(d4), lies halfway between the two more familiar terms: N(d1) and N(d2)

This paper describes four separate option types as special cases of Bermudans with general inter - exercise and time to final maturity. This produces a surface with European, finite American, infinite Bermudan and infinite American options as special cases. This allows Geske-Johnson 1984)...

We further elucidate the smooth pasting condition behind optimal early exercise of options. It is easy to show that smooth pasting implies rate of return equalization between the option and the levered position that results from exercise. This yields new economic insights into the optimal early...

Using high frequency intraday returns, we calculate the realized volatility of the USD/GBP, USD/DEM and USD/JPY exchange rates. It is shown that the dynamics of the logarithms of realized volatilities can be captured by either a fractionally integrated long memory model or a short memory ARMA...

This study extends the Hull and White (1993) binomial method to construct a trinomial model for the valuation of American-style warrants whose strike price can be reset to a new price level. The reset criteria is conditioned upon the average underlying asset price hitting the reset barrier in a...

Our study is among the first to examine the net asset value (NAV) inflation practices of fund managers in China, finding that equity funds bolster their portfolios at quarter-end and especially year-end. In support of the NAV inflation hypothesis in China, we further document the following: (1)...